Category: Announcements

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Annunciation of the Mother of God

Annunciation of the Mother of God

Readings

6th Hour – Reading from the Prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 66:10-24)

Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and all ye that love her hold in her a general assembly: rejoice greatly with her, all that now mourn over her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation; that ye may milk out, and delight yourselves with the influx of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, ‘Behold, I turn toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent bringing upon them in a flood the glory of the Gentiles: their children shall be borne upon the shoulders, and comforted on the knees. As if his mother should comfort one, so will I also comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear Him, and He shall threaten the disobedient. For, behold, the Lord will come as fire, and His chariots as a storm, to render His vengeance with wrath, and his rebuke with a flame of fire. For with the fire of the Lord all the earth shall be judged, and all flesh with His sword: many shall be slain by the Lord. They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens, and eat swine’s flesh in the porches, and the abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed together,’ saith the Lord. ‘And I know their works and their imagination. I am going to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see My glory. And I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth them that have escaped of them to the nations, to Tharsis, and Put, and Lud, and Mosoch, and to Tubal, and to Greece, and to the isles afar off, to those who have not heard My name, nor seen My glory; and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord with horses, and chariots, in litters drawn by mules with awnings, to the holy city Jerusalem,’ said the Lord, ‘as though the children of Israel should bring their sacrifices to Me with psalms into the house of the Lord. And I will take of them priests and Levites,’ saith the Lord. ‘For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before Me,’ saith the Lord, ‘so shall your seed and your name continue. And it shall come to pass from month to month, and from sabbath to sabbath, that all flesh shall come to worship before Me in Jerusalem,’ saith the Lord. ‘And they shall go forth, and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.’

Vesperal Liturgy

Reading from Genesis (Genesis 49:33- 50:26)

When Jacob ceased giving charges to his sons, having lifted up his feet on the bed, he died, and was gathered to his people. And Joseph fell upon his fathers face, and wept on him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the embalmers to embalm his father; and the embalmers embalmed Israel. And they fulfilled forty days for him, for so are the days of embalming numbered; and Egypt mourned for him seventy days. And when the days of mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the princes of Pharaoh, saying, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, speak concerning me in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, “My father adjured me, saying, ‘In the sepulchre which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there thou shalt bury me;’ now then I will go up and bury my father, and return again.”’ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Go up, bury thy father, as he constrained thee to swear.’ So Joseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. And all the household of Joseph, and his brethren, and all the house of his father, and his kindred; and they left behind the sheep and the oxen in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him also chariots and horsemen; and there was a very great company. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan; and they bewailed him with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. And the inhabitants of the land of Canaan saw the mourning at the floor of Atad, and said, ‘This is a great mourning to the Egyptians;’ therefore he called its name, ‘The mourning of Egypt,’ which is beyond Jordan. And thus his sons did to him. So his sons carried him up into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the double cave, which cave Abraham bought for possession of a burying place, of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brethren, and those that had gone up with him to bury his father. And when the brethren of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘Let us take heed, lest at any time Joseph remember evil against us, and recompense to us all the evils which we have done against him.’ And they came to Joseph, and said, ‘Thy father adjured us before his death, saying, “Thus say ye to Joseph, ‘Forgive them their injustice and their sin, forasmuch as they have done thee evil; and now pardon the injustice of the servants of the God of thy father.’”’ And Joseph wept while they spoke to him. And they came to him and said, ‘We, these persons, are thy servants.’ And Joseph said to them, ‘Fear not, for I am God’s. Ye took counsel against me for evil, but God took counsel for me for good, that the matter might be as it is today, and much people might be fed.’ And he said to them, ‘Fear not, I will maintain you, and your families:’ and he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brethren, and all the family of his father; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw the children of Ephraim to the third generation; and the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh were born on the sides of Joseph. And Joseph spoke to his brethren, saying, ‘I die, and God will surely visit you, and will bring you out of this land to the land concerning which God sware to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel, saying, ‘At the visitation with which God shall visit you, then ye shall carry up my bones hence with you.’ And Joseph died, aged an hundred and ten years; and they prepared his corpse, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

Reading from Exodus (Exodus 3:1-8)

Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the Mount of Horeb. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the bush, and he saw that the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, ‘I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.’ And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘What is it?’ And He said, ‘Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’ And He said, ‘I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry caused by their taskmasters; for I know their affliction. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Reading from Proverbs (Proverbs 8:22-30)

The Lord hath made me the beginning of His ways for His works. He established me before time was in the beginning, before He made the earth: even before He made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: before the mountains were settled, and all the hills, He begetteth me. The Lord made countries and deserts, and the highest inhabited parts under the heavens. When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him; and when He prepared His throne upon the winds: and when He strengthened the clouds above; and when He secured the fountains of the earth: and when He strengthened the foundations of the earth: I was by Him, arranging all things, I was that in which He took delight; and daily I rejoiced in His presence continually.

Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews (2:11-18)

Brethren: Both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will declare Thy name unto My brethren; in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee.’ And again, ‘I will put My trust in Him.’ And again, ‘Behold I and the children whom God hath given Me.’ Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death — that is, the devil — and deliver those who all their lifetime were subject to bondage through fear of death. For verily He took not on Himself the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Therefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor those who are tempted.

Holy Gospel according to Luke (1:24-38)

In those days, Elisabeth, the wife of Zechariah, conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, ’Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein He looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.’ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, ‘Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women.’ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and cast about in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, ‘Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.’ Then said Mary unto the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that Holy Being who shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth: she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.’ And the angel departed from her.

Troparia

Troparion of the Annunciation (Tone 4)
Today is the crown of our salvation and the revelation of the mystery which is from before the ages! The Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announceth the glad tidings of grace. Wherefore, with him let us cry out to the Theotokos: Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace! The Lord is with thee!

Kontakion of the Annunciation (Tone 8)
To thee, the champion leader, we, thy servants, dedicate hymns of victory and thanksgiving, as ones delivered from evils, O Theotokos; but in that thou hast invincible might, free us from all misfortunes, that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

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Fifth Sunday of Great Lent – St Mary of Egypt

Sunday of St Mary of Egypt

Readings

The Reading from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews (9:11-14)

Brethren: Christ, having come a High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands (that is to say, not of this building), neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if sprinkling the unclean with the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Galatians (3:23-29)

Brethren: Before faith came, we were kept under the law, being shut apart from the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Therefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (10:32-45)

At that time: Jesus took the twelve, and began to tell them what things would happen unto Him, saying, ‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles. And they shall mock Him and shall scourge Him, and shall spit upon Him and shall kill Him. And the third day He shall rise again.’ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto Him, saying, ‘Master, we would that Thou should do for us whatsoever we shall desire.’ And He said unto them, ‘What would ye that I should do for you?’ They said unto Him, ‘Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory.’ But Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ And they said unto Him, ‘We can.’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized with, also shall ye be baptized. But to sit on My right hand and on My left hand is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.’ And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to Him and said unto them, ‘Ye know that they that are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister, and whosoever of you would be the chiefest shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life as a ransom for many.’

Holy Gospel according to Luke (7:36-50)

At that time, One of the Pharisees desired Jesus that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to meat. And behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and began to wash His feet with tears and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had bidden Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, ‘This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is who toucheth him, for she is a sinner.’ And Jesus answering said unto him, ‘Simon, I have something to say unto thee.’ And he said, ‘Master, say on.’ ‘There was a certain creditor that had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?’ Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, ‘Thou hast rightly judged.’ And He turned to the woman and said unto Simon, ‘Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house: Thou gavest Me no water for My feet, but she hath washed My feet with tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. Thou gavest Me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment. Therefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.’ And He said unto her, ‘Thy sins are forgiven.’ And those who sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, ‘Who is this that forgiveth sins also?’ And He said to the woman, ‘Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace.’

Troparia

Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 1)

When the stone had been sealed by the Jews, and the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate Body, Thou didst rise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life unto the world. Wherefore, the Hosts of the heavens cried out to Thee, O Life-giver: Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ. Glory to Thy kingdom. Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Lover of mankind.
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Troparion of St Mary of Egypt (Tone 8)

In thee, O Mother, was preserved unimpaired that which is according to God’s image, for thou hast taken up the Cross and followed Christ. By thine actions thou hast taught us to despise the flesh, for it passes away, but to care for the soul, which is a thing immortal; and so thy spirit, holy Mary, rejoiceth with the angels.

Kontakion of the Resurrection (Tone 1)

As God, Thou didst arise from the tomb in glory, and Thou didst raise the world together with Thyself. And mortal nature praiseth Thee as God, and death hath vanished. And Adam danceth, O Master, and Eve, now freed from fetters, rejoiceth as she crieth out: Thou art He, O Christ, that grantest unto all resurrection.

Kontakion of St Mary of Egypt (Tone 3)

Once thou wast defiled, with every impurity, but today through repentance thou hast become the Bride of Christ. Desiring the life of the angels, thou hast cast down the demons with the weapon of the Cross: therefore, O glorious Mary, thou wast made a bride of the Kingdom.

Lenten Synaxarion
Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt

On this day, the fifth Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the memory of our holy and ven-erable Mother, Mary of Egypt.
The recorder of the life of this wonderful saint is St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. A hieromonk, the elder Zossima, had gone off at one time during the Great Fast on a twen-ty-days’ walk into the wilderness across the Jordan. He suddenly caught sight of a human being with a withered and naked body and with hair as white as snow, who fled in its na-kedness from Zossima’s sight. The elder ran a long way, until this figure stopped at a stream and called, “Father Zossima, forgive me for the Lord’s sake. I cannot turn around to you, for I am a naked woman.” Then Zossima threw her his outer cloak, and she wrapped herself in it and turned around to him. The elder was amazed at hearing his name from the lips of this unknown woman. After considerable pressure on his part, she told him the story of her life.

She had been born in Egypt and had lived as a prostitute in Alexandria from the age of twelve, spending seventeen years in this way of life. Urged by the lustful fire of the flesh, she one day boarded a ship that was sailing for Jerusalem. Arriving at the Holy City, she attempted to go into one of the churches to venerate the Precious Cross, but some unseen power prevented her from entering. In great fear, she turned to an icon of the Mother of God that was in the entrance and begged her to let her go in and venerate the Cross, con-fessing her sin and impurity and promising that she would then go wherever the Most Pure One led her. She was then allowed to enter the church. After venerating the Cross, she went out again to the entrance and, standing in front of the icon, thanked the Mother of God. Then she heard a voice saying, “If you cross the Jordan, you will find true peace.” She immediately bought three loaves of bread and set off for the Jordan, arriving there the same evening. She received Holy Communion the following morning in the monastery of St. John the Baptist, and then crossed the river. She spent the next forty-eight years in the wilderness in the greatest torments, in terror, in struggles with passionate thoughts like gigantic beasts, feeding only on plants.

Later, when she was standing in prayer, Zossima saw her lifted up in the air. She begged him to bring her Holy Communion the next year on the bank of the Jordan, and she would come to receive it. The following year, Zossima came with the Holy Gifts to the bank of the Jordan in the evening and stood in amazement as he saw her cross the river. He saw her coming in the moonlight and, arriving on the further bank, make the sign of the Cross over the river. She then walked across it as though it were dry land. When she had re-ceived Holy Communion, she begged him to come again the following year to the same stream by which they had first met. The next year Zossima went and found her dead body there on that spot. Above her head in the sand was written: “Abba Zossima, bury in this place the body of the humble Mary. Give dust to dust. I passed away on April 1, on the very night of Christ’s Passion, after Communion of the Divine Mysteries.” For the first time, Zossima learned her name and also the awe-inspiring marvel that she had arrived at that stream the previous year on the night of the same day on which she had received Holy Communion – a place that he had taken twenty days to reach. And thus Zossima bur-ied the body of the wonderful saint, Mary of Egypt. When he returned to the monastery, he recounted the whole story of her life and the wonders to which he had been an eye-witness. Thus the Lord glorifies repentant sinners. She entered into rest in about the year 530.

St. Mary is remembered today, as we reach the end of the Great Fast, to arouse the energy of the slothful and to urge sinners to repentance, imitating her example. She is also commemorated on April 1. The Righteous Zossima, who buried St. Mary, is commemorat-ed on April 4.

 

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Fourth Sunday of Great Lent – St John Climacus (of the ladder)

Sunday of St. John Climacus

John who lived in the flesh, yet was dead to the world,
become now breathless and dead, lives forever.
Leaving his writings, the Ladder of Ascent,
to show us the means of his own ascent.
John died on the thirtieth day (of March).

At the age of sixteen, this clever man offered himself as a most sacred sacrifice to God by going up to join the monastery on Mount Sinai. When he reached the age of nineteen he took a vow of silence. Living in the monastery at Thole for forty years, he burned always with love and the fire of the desire for God. He ate anything, which was not against the monastic rule, but with great temperance, thus wisely breaking the horn of pride. Yet what mind could express the source of his tears! He partook of sleep only insomuch as not to harm his body, though his mind was vigilant. His prayer was constant, and his love for God limitless. Having lived a life of amendment pleasing to God, and having written his ladder of ascent, expounding his words of instruction, he fell asleep in the Lord, full of goodness. He left many other writings as well.

Readings

The Reading from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews (6:13-20)

Brethren: When God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thee.’ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath of confirmation is to them an end to all strife. Thereby God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we, who have fled for refuge, might have strong consolation to lay hold upon the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, where the Forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, who is made a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Ephesians (5:8b-19)

Brethren: Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them, for it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Therefore He saith: ‘Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, be ye not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (9:17-31)

At that time, one of the multitude came to Jesus, bowing before Him and saying: ‘Master, I have brought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth and gnasheth his teeth and pineth away. And I spoke to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not.’ Jesus answered him and said, ‘O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto Me.’ And they brought the boy unto Him. And when the spirit saw Him, straightway he tore the boy; and he fell on the ground and wallowed about foaming. And He asked his father, ‘How long is it ago since this came unto him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. And oftentimes it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters to destroy him; but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us and help us.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’ And straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!’ When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, ‘Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him.’ And the spirit cried, and rent the boy sorely and came out of him; and he was as one dead, insomuch that many said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ And He said unto them, ‘This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.’ And they departed thence and passed through Galilee, and He would not that any man should know it. For He taught His disciples and said unto them, ‘The Son of Man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after He is killed, He shall rise the third day.’

Holy Gospel according to Matthew (4:25-5:12)

At that time, there followed Jesus great multitudes of people from Galilee and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. And seeing the multitudes, He went up onto a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.’

Troparia

Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 8)
From on high didst Thou descend, O Compassionate One, to burial of three days hast Thou submitted, that Thou mightest free us from our passions. O our Life and Resurrection, O Lord, glory be to Thee!

Troparion of St John Climacus (Tone 1)

O John our father, saint of God, thou wast revealed as a citizen of the desert, an angel in a body and a worker of miracles. Through fasting, prayer, and vigils thou hast received heavenly gifts of grace and thou healest the sick and the souls of those that turn to thee with faith. Glory be to Him Who gave thee strength; glory be to Him Who crowned thee; glory be to Him Who through thee grants to all men healing.

Kontakion of the Resurrection (Tone 8)

Having risen from the tomb, Thou didst raise up the dead, and didst resurrect Adam. Eve also danceth at Thy resurrection, And the ends of the world celebrate Thine arising from the dead, O Greatly-merciful One.

Kontakion of St John Climacus (Tone 4)

Truly the Lord has set thee as a fixed star in the firmament of abstinence, giving light to the ends of the earth, O father John our teacher.

St. John of the Ladder Sunday

A SERMON OF METROPOLITAN PHILARET

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
More than once, brethren, the fact has been mentioned that on each Sunday in the Great Fast there are other commemorations beside that of the Resurrection. Thus, on this day, the Church glorifies the righteous John of the Ladder, one of the greatest ascetics, which the Church, in speaking of them, calls “earthly angels and Heavenly men.”

These great ascetics were extraordinary people. They commanded the elements; wild beasts willingly and readily obeyed them. For them, there were no maladies they could not cure. They walked on the waters as on dry land; all the elements of the world were subject to them, because they lived in God and had the power of grace to overcome the laws of terrestrial nature. One such ascetic was Saint John of the Ladder.

He was surnamed “of the Ladder” (Climacus) because he wrote an immortal work, the Ladder of Divine Ascent. In this work, we see how, by means of thirty steps, the Christian gradually ascends from below to the heights of supreme spiritual perfection. We see how one virtue leads to another, as a man rises higher and higher and finally attains to that height where there abides the crown of the virtues, which is called “Christian love.”

Saint John wrote his immortal work especially for the monastics, but in the past his Ladder was always favorite reading in Russia for anyone zealous to live piously, though he were not a monk. Therein the Saint clearly demonstrates how a man passes from one step to the next.

Remember, Christian soul, that this ascent on high is indispensable for anyone who wishes to save his soul unto eternity.

When we throw a stone up, it ascends until the moment when the propelling force ceases to be effectual. So long as this force acts, the stone travels higher and higher in its ascent, overcoming the force of the earth’s gravity. But when this force is spent and ceases to act, then, as you know, the stone does not remain suspended in the air. Immediately, it begins to fall, and the further it falls the greater the speed of its fall. This, solely according to the physical laws of terrestrial gravity.

So it is also in the spiritual life. As a Christian gradually ascends, the force of spiritual and ascetical labours lifts him on high. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “Strive to enter in through the narrow gate.” That is, the Christian ought to be an ascetic. Not only the monastic, but every Christian. He must take pains for his soul and his life. He must direct his life on the Christian path, and purge his soul of all filth and impurity.
Now, if the Christian, who is ascending upon this ladder of spiritual perfection by his struggles and ascetic labours, ceases from this work and ascetic toil, his soul will not remain in its former condition; but, like the stone, it will fall to the earth. More and more quickly will it drop until, finally, if the man does not come to his senses, it will cast him down into the very abyss of hell.

It is necessary to remember this. People forget that the path of Christianity is indeed an ascetical labour. Last Sunday, we heard how the Lord said: “He that would come after Me, let him take up his cross, deny himself, and follow Me.” The Lord said this with the greatest emphasis. Therefore, the Christian must be one who takes up his cross, and his life, likewise, must be an ascetic labour of bearing that cross. Whatever the outward circumstance of his life, be he monk or layman, it is of no consequence. In either case, if he does not force himself to mount upwards, then, of a certainty, he will fall lower and lower.

And in this regard, alas, people have confused thoughts. For example, a clergyman drops by a home during a fast. Cordially and thoughtfully, they offer him fast food, and say: “For you, fast food, of course!” To this, one of our hierarchs customarily replies: “Yes, I am Orthodox. But who gave you permission not to keep the fasts?” All the fasts of the Church, all the ordinances, are mandatory for every Orthodox person. Speaking of monastics, such ascetics as Saint John of the Ladder and those like him fasted much more rigorously than the Church prescribes; but this was a matter of their spiritual ardour, an instance of their personal ascetic labour. This the Church does not require of everyone, because it is not in accord with everyone’s strength. But the Church does require of every Orthodox the keeping of those fasts which She has established.

Oftentimes have I quoted the words of Saint Seraphim, and once again shall I mention them. Once there came to him a mother who was concerned about how she might arrange the best possible marriage for her young daughter. When she came to Saint Seraphim for advice, he said to her: “Before all else, ensure that he, whom your daughter chooses as her companion for life, keeps the fasts. If he does not, then he is not a Christian, whatever he may consider himself to be.” You see how the greatest saint of the Russian Church, Saint Seraphim of Sarov, a man who, better than we, knew what Orthodoxy is, spoke concerning the fasts?

Let us remember this. Saint John Climacus has described the ladder of spiritual ascent; then let us not forget that each Christian must ascend thereon. The great ascetics ascended like swiftly-flying eagles; we scarcely ascend at all. Nonetheless, let us not forget that, unless we employ our efforts in correcting ourselves and our lives, we shall cease our ascent, and, most assuredly, we shall begin to fall. Amen.

 

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Third Sunday of Great Lent – VENERATION OF THE PRECIOUS AND LIFE-GIVING CROSS

On this third Sunday of the Great Fast we celebrate the Veneration of the precious and life-giving Cross. Since during the forty days of the Fast we are also in a way crucified, mortified to the passions, contrite, abased and despondent, the precious and life-giving Cross is offered to us as refreshment and confirmation, calling to mind the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and comforting us. If our God was crucified for our sake, how great should be our effort for His sake, since our afflictions have been assuaged through the Lord’s tribulations, and by the commemoration and the hope of the Cross of glory. For as our Savior in ascending the Cross was glorified through dishonor and grief; so should we also endure our sorrows, in order to be glorified with Him. Also, as those who have traveled a long hard road, weighed down by the labors of their journey, in finding a shady tree, take their ease for a moment and continue their journey rejuvenated, so now in this time of the Fast, this sorrowful and laborious journey, the Holy Fathers have planted the life-giving Cross, for our relief and refreshment, to encourage and make easier the labors that lie ahead. From the Lenten Synaxarion.

Readings

The Reading from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews – #311 (Ch 4:14-5:6)

Brethren: Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has passed into the Heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; who can have compassion on the ignorant and on those who are outside of the Way, since he himself is also encompassed by infirmity. And by reason hereof, he ought, both for the people and also for himself, to make offering for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, except he that is called by God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made a high priest, but He that said unto Him, ‘Thou art My Son; today have I begotten Thee.’ And He saith also in another place, ‘Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’

Holy Gospel according to Mark – #37 (Ch 8:34-9:1)

The Lord said: ‘Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ And He said unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, that there are some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.’

Troparia

Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 7)
Thou didst destroy death by Thy Cross, Thou didst open paradise to the thief.  Thou didst change the lamentation of the Myrrh-bearers,  and Thou didst command Thine Apostles  to proclaim that Thou didst arise, O Christ God, * and grantest to the world great mercy.

Troparion of the Cross (Tone 1)
Save, O Lord, Thy people  and bless Thine inheritance;  grant Thou unto Orthodox Christians  victory over enemies;  and by the power of Thy Cross  do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.

Kontakion of the Sunday of the Cross (Tone 7)
No longer doth the flaming sword guard the gate of Eden,  for a strange extinction hath come upon it, even the Tree of the Cross.  The sting hath been taken from death,  and the victory from hades.  And Thou, my Saviour, didst appear unto those in hades, saying: Enter ye again into Paradise.

Instead of the Trisagion: Before Thy Cross, we bow down, O Master, and Thy Holy Resurrection, we glorify. Thrice.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. And Thy Holy Resurrection, we glorify.
Before Thy Cross, we bow down, O Master, and Thy Holy Resurrection, we glorify.

Sermon on the Cross – Archbishop Averky

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

In the very middle of Great Lent, the road upon which we are now traveling, the Holy Church offers us the opportunity to honor and venerate our Holy Cross of the Lord. The image of the Honorable and Life-Creating Cross of the Lord is ceremoniously brought out of the altar to the middle of the church, and we all make the three prostrations before it with the singing of the words “Before Thy cross we fall down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.”There is profound meaning in this church ritual, with great edification for us faithful. If we conscientiously followed the first half of Lent: only ate Lenten food, ate less and less frequently, abstained from pleasures and entertainment, honestly battled our sinful tendencies and habits, we cannot but feel some degree of fatigue and even faltering of energy from the unusual exertion of will power and physical weakness. When we think that only one half of Lent has passed, some may unwillingly grumble “How hard this is! I can’t go on! When will it end?”

And so in order to lift our spirits and strengthen our will to continue observing Lent, the Holy Church offers us spiritual consolation—the Cross of the Lord is solemnly brought out for veneration.

“It is hard for you, you grumble,” the Church says, “but how difficult was it for the Lord to suffer for you, enduring unimaginable sufferings on this cross? Or do you think that His suffering was less than yours? Still, He endured all in order to save you. He did that for your sake, do this for Him, for His sake! Especially since this patience is not needful for Him or for anyone else, but specifically for you, which you need for your salvation. Remember His great love for you, which He revealed in giving Himself over to crucifixion and humiliating death, and your spirits will be lifted! His love and the miraculous power of the Cross will support you and help you complete the podvig of Lent and will bring you to the joyful, radiant feast day of the Resurrection.”

In other words, the Cross of the Lord, brought out for veneration, is our military banner, the sort historically brought out during earthly battles in order for inspiration, it is brought out for us, warriors in Christ, for our morale and courage to successfully wage battle and victory over the enemy. Beholding this glorious symbol, the symbol of victory over the devil, we feel the wave of new energies, inspiring us to continue our podvig. All the hardships and sorrows endured thus far are forgotten, and, in the words of the Apostle, we “forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before” (Philippians 3:13), and with greater earnestness strive for our goal—to defeat sin, to defeat the devil, in order to attain “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14), where inexpressible joy awaits us, promised to us by our Savior, Who suffered upon the Cross of the Lord.

But the cross of the Lord is not only a symbol for us, but an “unconquerable weapon,” for it crushes the power of the devil, as we sing in the Holy Church: “Thou gavest us Thy Cross as a weapon against the devil, O Lord; for he trembles and quakes, unable to bear the sight of its strength.”

In the teachings of the synaxarion, the Cross of the Lord is compared with the Tree of Life of the Garden of Eden, with the wood which sweetened the bitter waters of Marah during the forty years the people of God spent in the wilderness, and also with the shade trees which gives relief to travelers on the road to the promised land of eternal life.

“Crucified together with the One crucified for us, let us mortify all fleshly temptations in fasting and prayers,” is what the Holy Church calls us to, instructing us to boldly continue the podvig of holy Lent, turning our minds to the Lord Who was crucified for our sake.

At the same time, the emergence of the Cross of the Lord for veneration during Great Lent reminds the faithful of the great days when we remember the Passions of Christ and the Bright Feast Day of the Resurrection of Christ. As a victorious general is greeted, preceded by the symbols of his victory—his emblems and trophies, so here, before the Pascha of Christ, comes the ceremonious procession of the Victor over sin, hell and death, His Life-Giving Cross. It is a living reminder that if we suffer with Christ, then with Him, too, we will be glorified—we die with Him and are resurrected with Him.

In this way, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross is a foretaste of the bright Paschal joy that awaits us, because, in glorifying the Cross of the Lord, we also praise His Resurrection, thrice singing: “Before Thy cross we fall down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.”

And so the Cross of the Lord is for us Christians a military symbol and at the same time a weapon, since Christ the Savior had nailed our sins to the Cross, and, trampling the power of the devil, granted us eternal life. That is why it is a “sign of rejoicing,” as the Holy Church calls it, and this is the only glory we can boast ourselves, as Apostle Paul said: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14).

The cross became a wellspring for us, bountifully pouring forth Divine grace upon us. But each Christian must become a participant in this saving power of the Cross of the Lord only by bearing his own cross. This is what our Teacher of endurance, Jesus Christ, clearly teaches us: “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

“Our cross” is the freely-taken spiritual struggle in the life of the Christian in the world, the symbol of which is Lent, for every true Christian life is a podvig of fasting—a spiritual feat of self-restraint and abstention. Every true Christian is called to this, to be a podvizhnik, for without this there cannot be true Christianity, for we must force ourselves to every good deed and turn away from all wickedness. The Lord Himself summons us to this “ Strive to enter in at the strait gate” (Luke 13:24), for “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

From these words of Christ we clearly see how far from true Christianity are all contemporary modernists who wish to “reform” our Church and Christianity in general, who reject any limitations and restrictions and give their passions free reign.

So Christ the Savior gave us the commandment to struggle, to enter the narrow gate, that is, to endure all and to restrain our sinful passions and desires, for “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

And Holy Apostle Paul, in full accord, says “mastery is temperate in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25),” and so “I mortify my body and enslave it, else I will be enslaved,” that is, everyone must learn temperance.

The way of the cross is this very podvig of constant, complete bodily and spiritual abstinence, which is required of every earnest follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The humble endurance of all sorrows and sufferings we face on earth, the constant struggle with our sinful tendencies and the complete devotion to the will of God is the persona cross of every true Christian. Those who bear this cross emulates Christ the Cross-Bearer, and becomes a true follower of Him. And just as the Cross of Christ led to the joy of Resurrection, so the personal cross of each of us will lead to the same resurrection from the dead and eternal inexpressible joy and blessedness, the never-ending day of the Kingdom of Christ.

Great Lent is nothing other than the symbol of Christian life, and also the annual exercise of Christian living, an annual reminder of how the Christian must live, and what the final goal of his life must be.

Now we see why the enemy of God and mankind, the devil, exerts all his efforts to deprive us of this great, saving holy symbol of the Cross of the Lord, and compels us to refuse to “bear our cross,” turning us astray from following Christ.

That is why we see less frequently the image of the Cross of the Lord, which is being replaced everywhere by other symbols and emblems, leading Christians to forget the Cross of the Lord and forget to bear their own cross. Even buildings which pretend to the name “church” rarely exhibit this symbol.

The enemy wishes to tear this symbol of victory and glory from our hands, in order to disarm and vanquish us. Sorrow to anyone who gives in to imprisonment by Satan easily, to face eternal, inconsolable sorrow and suffering! Sorrow to all who join with the enemies of the Cross of Christ, and do their bidding! They will become traitors and betrayers of our Lord and Savior, and his eternal fate will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12).

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Schedule of Service Fees

The Russian Orthodox Church in Cabramatta is a popular venue to conduct weddings, Christenings, Baptisms and funerals. Often people ask Fr Boris and/or the staff at the candle stands how much it costs to hire the Church.

A standardised schedule of services fees has been created in English to help people plan their day.

Bookings are made with the Priest and Fr Boris can be reached on 02 4625 7743

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Parking Restrictions

There are new parking restrictions in place from now until Pokrov: there is no parking for anyone under any circumstances on the southern grassed area (between Church and toilet block). Even if there are no steel bollards and a steel fence to block your way, go park somewhere else. Let’s preserve the new grass and give the kids an area to play on rather than ruin it with car tyres and create another dust bowl. Reminder that there is no parking on the asphalt during business hours. We still have 2000m2 of available parking at the block of land that fronts onto 291 Cabramatta Road.

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The Protection (Pokrov) of the Most Holy Mother of God

The Protection (Pokrov) of the Most Holy Mother of God

“The Virgin today doth stand forth within the Church, and with the choirs of the Saints invisibly for us doth pray to God: angels with hierarchs make reverence, and apostles with prophets sing forth: for us the Birthgiver of God prayeth the Praeternal God” — this miraculous appearance of the Mother of God occurred in the mid-X Century at Constantinople, in the Blakhernae church where there was preserved the Robe of the Mother of God, Her Head-Veil (mathoria) and part of the Belt-Sash, transferred from Palestine in the V Century. On Sunday, 1 October, during the time of the all-night vigil, when the church was overflowing with those at prayer, the Fool-for-Christ Saint Andrew (Comm. 2 October) at the fourth hour of the night lifted up his eyes towards the heavens, and beheld coming through the air our MostHoly Lady Mother of God resplendent with an Heavenly light and surrounded by an assembly of the Saints. The holy Baptist of the Lord John and the holy Apostle John the Theologian accompanied the Queen of Heaven. On bended knee the MostHoly Virgin began with tears to pray for Christians and for a long time was at prayer. Then, coming nigh the Prestol’-Throne, She continued Her prayer, which having completed She then took from Her head the veil and spread it over the people praying in church, protecting them from enemies both visible and invisible. The MostHoly Lady Mother of God was resplendent with Heavenly glory, and the protecting veil in Her hands gleamed “more than the rays of the sun”. Saint Andrew gazed atrembling at the miraculous vision and he asked of his disciple Blessed Epiphanios standing alongside him: “Dost thou see, brother, the Queen and Lady, praying for all the world?” Epiphanios answered: “I do see, holy father, and I be in awe”. The Ever-Blessed Mother of God implored of the Lord Jesus Christ to accept the prayers of all the people, calling on His MostHoly Name and hastening in recourse to Her intercession. “O Heavenly King, — sayeth in prayer the Immaculate Queen standing aethereally amidst the Angels, — accept every person, that prayeth unto Thee and calleth on My Name for help, let them not go empty away unheard from before My Visage”. Saints Andrew and Epiphanios, granted to behold the Mother of God at prayer, “for a long time did gaze at the protecting veil spread over the people and the lightning like flashes in glory to the Lord; as long as the Most Holy Mother of God was there, so likewise was the protecting veil visible; but with Her departure it likewise became invisible, and though having taken it with Her, She left behind the grace of having been there”. At the Blakhernae church was preserved the memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God. In the XIV Century, the Russian pilgrim and clerk Aleksandr saw within the church an icon of the MostHoly Mother of God praying for the world, and written such, as depicting Saint Andrew in contemplation of Her. But the Greek Church does not know this feast. [trans. note: i.e. does not historically celebrate this feast. Our Russian source is here reticent concerning the historical circumstances occasioning the necessary protective intercession of the Mother of God, and it reflects a great irony, that for the Russians rather than for the Greeks this should be an important feast, since it celebrates the Divine destruction by a storm of a large pagan-Russian fleet under Askold and Dir which threatened Constantinople itself, sometime in the years 864-867, or per the Russian historian Vasiliev on 18 June 860.

The Russian Primary Chronicle of Saint Nestor notes this miraculous deliverance following the all-night vigil and the dipping of the garment of the Mother of God into the waters of the sea at the Blakhernae church, but without mention of Saints Andrew and Epiphanios and their vision of the Mother of God at prayer. These latter elements, and the beginnings of the celebrating of the feast of Pokrov, seem to postdate Saint Nestor and the Chronicle. A further historical complication might be noted under the 2 October entry for Saint Andrew — that of his demise in the year 936. Either this year of death might not be quite reliable, or that he survived into quite extreme old age after the vision of his youth, or that his vision involved some historically later pagan-Russian raid which met with the same fate. The below suggestion likewise that the Saint Andrew of the vision was a Slav (or a Skyth per other sources, such as S. V. Bulgakov) — is a nice touch, but not necessarily chauvinism: the extent of historical South Slavic penetration and re-population into Greece is the stuff of scholarly disputes].

In the Prologue, a Russian book of the XII Century, is contained a description about the establishing of the special feastday in honour of this event: “For lo, when we heard, — we realised, how wondorus and merciful was the vision and moreover an expectation and intercession on our behalf, without celebration… and it transpired, that Thy holy Pokrov-Protection should not remain without festal-celebration, O Ever-Blessed One!”. Wherefore in the festal celebration of the Divine-services to the Pokrov-Protection of the Mother of God, the Russian Church intones: ” With the choirs of the Angels, O Sovereign Lady, with the venerable and glorious prophets, with the First-Ranked Apostles and with the PriestMartyrs and Sainted-hierarchs pray Thou for us sinners, glorifying the feast of Thine Protection in the Russian Land”. And moreover, it would seem that Saint Andrew, contemplating the miraculous vision, was a Slav, taken captive and at Constantinople given over into slavery to the local inhabitant named Theognost.

Churches in honour of the Pokrov-Protection of the Mother of God appeared in Russia in the XII Century. Widely known on its architectural merit is the temple of the Pokrov at Nerla, which was built in the year 1165 by holy Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky. Through the efforts of this holy prince was also established in the Russian Church the feast itself, the Pokrov-Protection of the Mother of God, in about the year 1164. At Novgorod in the XII Century there existed a monastery of the Pokrov of the MostHoly Mother of God (the so-called Zverinsk monastery); at Moscow also under tsar Ivan the Terrible was built the cathedral of the Pokrov of the Mother of God at the church of the Holy Trinity (known as the church of Saint Basil the Great).

On the feast of the Pokrov Protection of the MostHoly Mother of God we implore the defense and assist of the Queen of Heaven: “Remember us in Thine prayers, O Lady Virgin Mother of God, that we perish not by the increase of our sins, protect us from every evil and from grievous woes; for on Thee do we hope, and venerating the feast of Thine Pokrov, Thee do we magnify”.

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Stars of the Orient: New Martyrs of China

Troparion, in the Fifth Tone:

In a pagan land ye were enlightened by the Orthodox Faith,
and having lived in the Faith but a little time,
ye inherited the eternal Kingdom.
By the purity of your Christian ways
ye put to shame the false Confucian piety
and trampled demon-inspired Buddhism underfoot as refuse,
sanctifying the Chinese land with your blood.
Wherefore, we pray:
Entreat the Master of all
that He enlighten your land with Orthodoxy in these latter times,
and strengthen us therein.

Kontakion, in the First Tone:

O Martyrs of these latter times,
ye whitened your garments in the blood of the Lamb,
and shed your own blood for Christ.
Wherefore, ye now minister unto Him day and night
in the Church of heaven.
Therefore, entreat Christ for us, O glorious Martyrs,
that He hide His little flock from the beguilement of Antichrist,
and that He lead all of us out of great tribulation
unto a land of never-waning light.

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Pentecost – Kneeling Prayers in English

The First Prayer

Lord, pure and undefiled, existing before all eternity, invisible, incomprehensible, unsearchable, unchanging, surpassed by none, not to be calculated, long-suffering, the only immortal One, You abide in the unapproachable light. You created heaven and earth, and all the creatures that inhabit them, supplying all their needs even before they ask. To You we pray and You we entreat, loving Master, the Father of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven to be incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, the glorious Theotokos. At first You taught in words, but then showed us by deeds, when in enduring the saving Passion You gave to us Your humble, sinful and unworthy servants an example of how to offer our prayers in the bending of our heads and knees for our own transgressions and for the failings of the people.

All-merciful and loving Lord, hear us whenever we call upon You, but especially on this day of Pentecost, on which, after our Lord Jesus Christ had ascended into the heavens, to be seated at Your right hand, God and Father, He sent the Holy Spirit on His holy disciples and Apostles. As He came to rest upon each of them, and all were filled with His overflowing grace, they spoke in strange tongues of Your mighty works and prophesied.

As we now pray to You, hear us, and be mindful that we are lowly and deserving of judgment; recall our souls from the bondage of sin. Your own compassion interceding for us. Accept us as we kneel before You crying the familiar, “I have sinned!” We have been dependent on You from our mother’s womb; You are our God. But because our days have been vainly squandered, we are stripped of Your help, without any defense. Even so, encouraged by Your mercies, we cry: Remember not our sins committed in youth and ignorance, and purge our secret thoughts. Do not spurn us in old age; when our strength fails us, do not forsake us; before we are returned to the earth, make us worthy to return to You, and treat us with Your favor and grace. Measure out Your mercies against our transgressions; contrast the depths of Your pity to the multitude of our offenses.

From Your holy dwelling place look down upon the people present here in expectation of Your rich mercy; visit us in Your goodness; free us from the oppression of the Evil One; make our lives secure within Your holy and sacred laws. Entrust Your people to a faithful guardian angel; gather us all into Your kingdom; grant forgiveness to those who hope in You; remit them and us our sins; cleanse us through the work of Your Holy Spirit; put an end to the wiles of the enemy.

And also:

Blessed are You, Master, Almighty Lord, for You light the day with the light of the sun and brighten the night with the rays of fire. You enabled us to pass the span of the day and so come to the beginnings of the night. Hear our prayer and that of all Your people, and forgive us all our deliberate and unwitting sins; receive our evening petitions and send upon Your inheritance the abundance of Your mercy and compassion.

Encompass us with Your holy Angels; arm us with the weapons of Your righteousness; fortify us within Your truth; make Your strength our garrison, spare us all adverse circumstances and all assaults of the adversary. Finally, vouchsafe to us this evening, and the impending night, perfect, holy, peaceful, sinless, free of disturbing visions, and all the days of our lives, through the prayers of the Holy Theotokos and of all the Saints who have pleased You through the ages.

The Second Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ our God, You have bestowed Your peace on humankind, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be with us even in thus life as a perpetual inheritance to believers never to be taken away. On this day You have sent this grace upon Your disciples and Apostles in a way more manifest, giving utterance to their lips by means of fiery tongues, so that every human race, hearing in our own language received the knowledge of God, and, illumined by the light of the Spirit, emerged from error as from darkness, and in the distribution of visible tongues of fire, and by extraordinary power, were taught faith in You, and were enlightened to speak of You, as of the Father and the Holy Spirit, as one Godhead, one power, one sovereignty.

As the reflection of the Father, the perfect and immutable likeness of His essence and nature, the source of salvation and grace, open the lips of this sinner and teach me how and for what I should pray. For You know the great number of my sins, yet Your compassion will overcome their enormity. For in fear I stand before You, casting my soul’s despair into the sea of Your mercy. Govern my life, as You govern all creation by the unspoken word and the power of wisdom, calm haven of the storm-tossed, and make known to me the way in which I should walk.

Grant me the Spirit of wisdom in my thoughts, the Spirit of prudence in my ignorance. Let the Spirit of the awe of You, overshadow my deeds. Renew a steadfast Spirit in my breast, and let Your guiding Spirit make firm my errant mind, so that each day, led by Your good Spirit towards that which is profitable, I may be worthy to keep Your commandments, ever mindful of Your glorious and soul­searching presence. Do not allow me to be beguiled by the world’s corrupting delights, but rather to desire the enjoyment of future treasures. For You, Master, have said, that whatever we ask in Your name, we shall without fail receive from Your co-eternal God and Father. Thus I, too, the sinner, at the descent of Your Holy Spirit, beseech Your goodness. All that I have asked, grant me for salvation. Yes, Lord, You are the lavish giver of everything good, giving far in excess of what we ask. You are the compassionate and merciful One Who, though sinless, became sharer in our flesh, and bending in love towards those who bend the knee to You, You became the propitiation for our sins.

Now then, Lord, grant Your people Your mercies; hear us from Your heavenly dwelling place; sanctify them by the power of Your saving right hand; shelter them in the shadow of Your wings; do not spurn the work of Your hands. It is against You alone that we sin, but it is You alone we worship; we know no alien god to adore, not to stretch out our hands to any other deity, O Master. Remit our offenses, and as You receive our petitions on bended knee, extend to us all a helping hand. Accept our common prayer as a pleasing fragrance, rising up to Your blessed kingdom.

And also:

Lord, Lord, as You save us from every arrow that flies by day, protect us from everything that lurks in darkness. Accept the lifting up of our hands as an evening sacrifice. And enable us to pass the course of the night blamelessly, untempted by evil, and rid us of all disturbance and fear induced by the Evil One. Grant contrition to our soul, and to our thoughts due concern for our trial on the day of Your awesome and just judgment.

Transfix our bodies with awe of You, and deaden our earthly members, so that in the quiet of sleep we may be cheered by the contemplation of Your judgments. Distance from us every improper imagining and harmful desire. Instead raise us up at the hour of prayer strengthened in faith and growing in Your commandments.

The Third Prayer:

The never-failing spring, bursting with life and light, creative power co-eternal with the Father, You fulfilled surpassingly the plan for the salvation of humankind, shattering the unbreakable bonds of death and the bolts of Hades and trampling the throngs of evil spirits. You presented Yourself as a blameless victim for us, offering Your pure body, chaste and untouched by sin, in sacrifice, and by that terrible and indescribable oblation granted us everlasting life. You descended into Hades and broke down its gates, and sojourning among those below, You showed them the way of ascent. As for the Prince of Evil, that dragon of the deep, You snared him in an inspired lure, binding him in circles of darkness, in Your infinite power made him fast in the nether world, in the eternal fire and the outer darkness.

The glorious wisdom of the Father, You are the great help of those in peril, giving light to those in darkness and the shadow of death. Lord of everlasting glory, beloved Son of the Most High, eternal light of eternal light, Sun of righteousness, hear our supplications and give rest to the souls of Your servants, our fathers and brothers and other kin by blood, and all of the household of faith who have since fallen asleep and whose memorial we keep this day. For in You is the strength of all and in Your hand You hold the far reaches of the earth. Almighty Master, God of our Fathers and Lord merciful Lord of the living and the dead, Creator of all mortal nature, composed and again dissolved, of life and of death, of earthly existence and of the departure hence, You measure out the years for the living and set times of death, bringing down to Hades and raising up, fettering in weakness and liberating in power; You provide aptly for the present and fittingly dispose what is to come, restoring those who are wounded by the sting of death with the hope of resurrection.

Master, Lord of all, our God and Redeemer, the hope of all, at the ends of the earth and far away at sea, on this latter great and saving day of Pentecost You disclosed to us the mystery of the holy, consubstantial, co-eternal and life-giving Trinity, indivisible yet distinct, and in the descent and presence of Your holy and life-giving Spirit poured out its grace upon Your holy Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, making them proclaimers and confessors of our holy Faith, of true knowledge of God. On this universal and salutary feast, deign to accept petitions for those imprisoned in Hades, thus giving us great hope, and relief to the departed from their grievous distress and Your comfort.

Hear us, humble and pitiable, as we pray to You, and give rest to the souls of Your Servants who have departed this life, in a place of light, a place of renewed life, a joyous place, shunned alike by pain and sorrow and sighing. And place their spirits where the Righteous dwell, counting them worthy of peace and repose; for the dead do not praise You, Lord, nor do those in Hades dare to offer You glory, but it is we the living who bless and entreat You and offer You propitiatory prayers and sacrifices for their souls.

And Also:

O God, great and eternal, holy and loving, having deemed us worthy to stand at this hour in the presence of Your unapproachable glory, to sing in praise of Your wondrous acts, be gracious to Your unworthy servants and grant us grace to offer You in contrition of heart the thrice-holy doxology and thanksgiving for the great gifts You have bestowed on us and continue always. Lord, be mindful of our weakness, and do not let us be lost in our wrongdoing, but show mercy as we humble ourselves, so that, escaping the darkness of sin, we may walk in the day of justice, and girded with the armor of light, we may live free of the assaults of the Evil One, and so with courage glorify You the only true and loving God in all things.

Truly great is Your mystery, Master and Maker of all, of the temporary separation of Your creatures, to be united again in everlasting rest. We confess Your grace in all things, for our entrances into this world and our departures, of which our hope of resurrection and a life of bliss, according to Your certain promise, are the guarantee. May we enjoy it in Your future second coming. For You are both the pioneer of our resurrection and the just but compassionate judge of our lives and Master and Lord of our reward. In ultimate condescension You shared in our flesh and blood and in our passions, willingly assuming them in the depth of Your compassion so that having Yourself been tempted, You offered Yourself freely as helper to us who are tempted. Thus You united us all to You in Your freedom from passion.

Will You, then, Master, accept our prayers and entreaties, and give rest to everyone’s fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters and children, or of the same family or people, and all the souls that have gone before to their rest in the hope of the resurrection to everlasting life. And place their spirits and their names in the book of life, the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the land of the living, in the kingdom of the heavens, in the bliss of Paradise, Your angels of light leading all into Your holy mansions. And on the day You have ordained, raise up our bodies as well according to Your unfailing promises. In departing our bodies to dwell in You our God, there is no death for Your servants Lord, but rather a change from the more sorrowful to the better and more pleasing, to rest, to joy.

And if we have in any way sinned against You, be merciful to them and to us; for no man is free of stain in Your sight though he live but a day. Only You, Who came sinless to earth, our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we all hope to find mercy and remission of sins.

Thus as good and loving God, remit and forgive them and us our failings, whether witting or unwitting, committed in knowledge or ignorance, intentionally or unaware, in deed or in thought, in word, in all goings about. Both to those who have gone before and to us who await, give release and repose, granting us and all Your people a good and peaceful end, opening up to us Your heart of love and mercy at Your terrible and awesome Coming and judging us worthy of Your kingdom.

And Also:

Great and most high God, You alone are immortal, abiding in unapproachable light. In wisdom You created the world; You separated the light from the darkness, and set the sun, the greater light, to rule the day, and the lesser light, the moon, and the stars, to rule the night. You have judged us, though sinners, at this present hour to come into Your presence, giving thanks and offering You our evening praise. Loving Lord, let our prayer rise as incense before You, and accept it as a fragrant offering. Make this evening and the coming night peaceful for us. Gird us with the armor of light. Deliver us from the terror of the night and from everything that lurks about in the darkness. And let our sleep, which You have given us for rest, given our weakness, be free of all demonic images. Yes, Master of all, source of all blessings, so that, even as we slumber in our beds, we may speak Your Name in the night, and so, enlightened by the contemplation of Your statutes, we may rise, our souls rejoicing, to glorify Your goodness, offering prayers and supplications to Your compassion, for our own sins and for those of all Your people, asking that, at the intercession of the holy Theotokos, You will show them mercy.